Traverses on Less Trodden Path of Indian Philosophy and Religion

Author(s): Yajneshwar S Shastri
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 101

Traverses on less trodden path...
Asanga, a disciple of Maitreyanātha, is prominent among those revolutionary thinkers who went against Nagarjuna's doctrine and propagated Vijiāpavada. Asanga, a speculative thinker of first rank is not satisfied with this negative attitude of Nāgārjuna. His approach to Reality is more positive and he identifies the Absolute Reality consciousness which is free from subject-object duality, indescribable, beyond determination of thought-categories and oon-dual.C Asanga is not ready to accept the view of Nāgārjuna that the phenomenal world is purely conceptual and lacks any basis.7 His aim was to find out the ground of phenomena-an apparent world on which it appears. There must by some basis for this worldly appearance. Phenomena, though unreal, must be rooted in some reality. This line of thinking, leads him to come to the conclusion that the base or the ground for this apparent phenomenal world is nothing but pure-consciousness. Consciousness itself appears as subject-object duality on account of transcendental illussion. Appearance of a form of consciousness as something objective and independent is illusory. But the ground of this appearance is real, it is the reality-pure-consciousness. In other words, pure consciousness freed of the false duality of subject and object is the Absolute. Phenomena are the veiled form or false appearances of the Absolute. Phenomena do not completely cut us form reality. They are appearances and appearances point to that which appears, i.e., pure consciopsness.
According to Asanga, the highest reality which is nori-dual, indescribable and non-determinate,& transcends all opposites and in it the positives and negatives are one and the same. 9 The nature of the highest reality is such that it is neither existence nor non-existence. It is neither born nor destroyed. It is neither pure nor impure. 10 It is Dharmadbātu i.e., essence of all elements. It is the substratum of all phenomena, permanent background of world of phenomena. It is the principle of unity underlying the entire phenomenal world. It is essentially identical with all elements (dbarma) and yet it cannot be defined in terms of any elements, it transcends all of them. 11 It is like the sky (äkāga) which pervades every thing and is affected by nothing. 12 It is unimaginable, immeasurable and
6. Tattvam yat satatam dvayena rahitam bbräntesca sannišryal), sakyam naivaca
sarvathabhilapitum vacciprapañoätmakam-Mahāyānastri'ai lầa (MSA) X[-].
ed Dr. S. Bagcbi, Mithila Institute, Darbharga, 1970, 7. Madhyamakaśāstra-1.9-10. 8. MSA-XI, 19. 9. Bhavabhāvasamânată-Ibid., XI. 41. 10. Ibid VI. 1, 11, Sarvadhrāmāśca buddhatvam dharmo naivaca ka cana-Ibid-IX. + 12. Ioid IX. 15.